Lake Tahoe

Friday Aug 26

The guy who’s house we are staying shows up today. I meet up with him (Larry) and a buddy (Captain Mike) to go mountain biking in the morning. We get back and head to Sunny Side restaurant right on the water to enjoy lunch. With some coercing, we get Larry to take us out on his 25 foot speedboat. The water is too rough for any water sports, so we just have a good lounge and swim out in the middle of the lake. The views are totally spectacular, lovin it. Captain Mike had invited us to join him (for free) on his sunset sail charter on his 50 foot racing sailboat. Mike has a great job, he just takes people out on his boat and has a good time. There is also an afternoon sail, but his business partner normally takes out that boat. First mate Fro kept the drinks and snacks flowing, and we had a great time. At night Andrea and I went out to Olympic Village in Squaw Valley, mingled with the locals, and called it a night.

Thursday Aug 25

Andrea and I woke up pretty early to get out and play in Tahoe. We rented a bike for her, and headed straight up to the famous Flume Trail, which I rode last year at the Xterra USA Championships race. Man, it was even more beautiful than I remember. Absolutely breathtaking. I nearly had a bad crash b/c I couldn’t keep my eyes off the amazingly blue lake. So cool. The 23 mile ride took us about 3.5 hours, stopping often for pics and food.

After grabbing a late lunch, we went to a beach at Incline Village (north side of the lake) and hung out on the beach, and swam in the crisp, cool, clear water. The visibility in the lake is around 75 feet, which is so cool compared to the lakes out east. The water temp was only around mid-60’s, but I decided against the hassle of a wetsuit, and fared ok (the initial cold shock of jumping in was a little brutal, but not bad after that). Hung out for a bit in Tahoe City, then back to the place for dinner, and of course the hot tub!!

OK, so my face finally saw a razor for the first time in more than 3 weeks tonight. For you beard-lovers (yes, there are some out there), don’t fret, it was just a “trimming.” The beard continues (even with the comments about being homeless)!!